PRISONS recorded their highest ever number of deaths last year at 371 – more than one a day with a huge increase in suicides.

Figures on deaths and self-harm in prisons in England and Wales were released today by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

They showed that in the 12 months to December 2021, 371 detainees died in prison — the highest annual number of deaths ever recorded and equating to 4.7 deaths per 1,000 prisoners.

The report stated that 250 deaths were classed as natural causes, 86 were self-inflicted and 34 were recorded as “other.” 

There was one homicide, while other deaths await classification.

Justice campaigners accused the government of ignoring warnings of looming dangers last year as prison conditions deteriorated during Covid-19 lockdown. 

Inquest, a lawyers’ group which represents relatives of people who die in custody, said the record numbers were reached despite reductions in the prison population.

The group said that the number of self-inflicted deaths had increased by 28 per cent, and also challenged the number of deaths classified as “natural causes.”

Inquest said that its casework and monitoring shows many of these deaths are premature and far from “natural.”

Inquest director Deborah Coles said: “This time last year we said: we fear the worst is yet to come.

“Sadly, we were right. Despite what could have been learned from the first wave of the pandemic, the government allowed yet more people to die in prison.

“But the pandemic alone cannot explain away this record level of deaths. 

“These statistics represent the serious consequences of highly restrictive regimes on people’s mental and physical health.

“They also reflect the continuation of a harmful and dangerous prison system and criminal justice policies which use prison as the response to social problems.”

Howard League for Penal Reform chief executive Andrea Coomber  said: “For the first time since current recording practices began more than 40 years ago, people in prison are dying at a rate of more than one per day.

“Tens of thousands of people have been held in overcrowded conditions or solitary confinement for months on end. 

“It is almost impossible to fathom the mental distress that this will have caused. 

“This is devastating for the prisoners, their families and the staff looking after them.”

The MoJ has been contacted for comment.